MILWAUKEE — There weren’t many adjustments for coach Thad Matta to make at halftime of an unsightly game other than to tell his players to make more shots.

“I told them, ‘Look, I don’t know if we can play any better defensively. I don’t know if we can play any worse offensively,’” he said.

He also told Shannon Scott to go back in the game.

The two went hand-in-hand yesterday in igniting Ohio State in the second half and carrying the No. 10 Buckeyes to a 52-35 win over No. 17 Marquette at the Bradley Center. The victory ended the longest current home winning streak in Division I basketball at 27 games.

Scott, who played only seven minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, accelerated the tempo of a sluggish, 19-19 game at the outset of the second half with six consecutive points and two steals in a 12-2 run that that changed the momentum for good. Ohio State shot 57.7 percent in the second half.

“Give Shannon credit. He came in and gave us a great boost,” guard Sam Thompson said. “He made some plays early on that really opened it up for us.”

Scott applied pressure at both ends with his quickness and a collective defensive effort that helped limit the Golden Eagles to 18.9 percent shooting for the game and the Buckeyes to build a lead of eight points in the first 3:38 and expand it to as much as 20.

Ohio State outscored Marquette 16-0 in transition, 12-0 in the second half.

“I just feel like they didn’t get back on defense real well, Scott said. “They sent like four guys to the glass every time (the Buckeyes were outrebounded 50-34), so people weren’t going to be back. Knowing that, I just had to keep attacking them.”

Scott and Thompson scored 13 points apiece to lead Ohio State (3-0), and Scott had five steals, four after halftime. Aaron Craft had 10 points and 10 assists and became the first Ohio State player with 1,000 points, 500 assists and 200 steals.

“Not to take anything away from Aaron. He’s deserving of all the praise. They scored 22 baskets, and he accounted for 15. That’s phenomenal,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. “Having said that, I think that, on a perimeter basis, Shannon Scott is a real key to their team. Really fast, really bouncy, can do it off the bounce, can do it off the catch.

“When he’s not out there for Aaron Craft to pitch it to, I think that changes the dynamic of their team. He initiates their offense just as much percentage-wise, I think, as Aaron does, and that’s a great thing to have, that versatility.”

Guard Todd Mayo scored 11 points to lead Marquette (2-1), which shot the lowest field goal percentage against Ohio State since Samford (.188) in 2008 and scored its fewest points in a game in 13 years.

“Some of the shots they had, point-blank, that rolled around (and out). It was one of those days, I think,” Matta said. “I’d like to take all the credit.”

But the Buckeyes did what they set out to do on defense, limiting the touches inside by Marquette’s big men and challenging shots without fouling a lot, no small feat considering the tight officiating. That helped Amir Williams and Trey McDonald limit the beefy trio of Davante Gardner, Chris Otule and Steve Taylor Jr. to 11 field goal attempts and 14 points combined.

Marquette had four assists and 20 turnovers.

“That was really the focal point of our defense all week in practice,” Thompson said. “We knew we were the first line of defense. It wasn’t Amir and Trey, it was the ball pressure, and we did a good job of that.”